Teaming Up For Digital Rights

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When people of goodwill come together, there is no limit to what they can achieve. For example, discussions between the technology and recording industries recently produced an unusual and persuasive consensus on how best to respond to the difficult policy challenges posed by digital piracy.

The music, movie, publishing and software industries lose billions of dollars in sales annually because of unauthorized copying and redistribution of their products. They all share an interest in reducing piracy, which hurts consumers by discouraging continued investment in new, creative work.

Some in the affected industries have called on government to require that computers and other digital devices incorporate technology to prevent copying. But many—including Microsoft—believe that specific technology mandates would be costly and ineffective. Our concern is that they would hobble consumers’ lawful use of technology, and stifle the innovation that can ultimately make digital music, movies and other content both more secure and more available—legally.

These issues have been the focus of extensive discussions involving the leading technology and record companies, represented by three broad-based trade groups: the Recording Industry Association of America, the Computer Systems Policy Project and the Business Software Alliance.

These groups recently achieved breakthrough agreement on a set of policy principles. Noting that they have already collaborated to develop anti-copying technology used today in media and devices, they agreed that government mandates on how technology must work or be deployed are not practical, and not in the best interests of consumers or businesses.

The industry groups endorsed efforts to increase consumer awareness of the rights and wrongs of Internet use and digital copying. They expressed support for private and government sanctions against copyright infringers, and for technical measures to limit illegal distribution of copyrighted works—as long as those measures are reasonable, are not destructive to networks, data or equipment, and do not violate individuals’ privacy or similar legal interests.

Microsoft is proud to participate in this ongoing, cross-industry effort and in other efforts to bring together industry and consumer groups for constructive dialogue and joint action. We have listened and used what we have learned to integrate appropriate rights-management features into software such as Windows Media Player, and forthcoming products such as Windows Server 2003 and Office 11.

Through good-faith cooperation on piracy and other issues, technology can continue to advance, entertainment companies can explore secure new distribution channels, consumers can gain online access to a rich array of multimedia content—and the digital economy can flourish, without limit.

Reference: http://www.microsoft.com/issues/essays
Article ID: 510